Attendance at HS Sporting Events Tops 500 Million

It might not seem evident in New York with the influx of professional sports so close to home in the local area, but more fans attend high school basketball and football events than the same sports at the college and professional levels combined, according to a survey conducted by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS).

During the 2009-10 school year, approximately 336 million fans attended high school regular-season and playoff games in football and girls and boys basketball – more than two times the 133 million spectators who attended events in those sports at the college and professional levels, the NFHS said.

The NFHS also said last week that attendance at events in the top 16 high school sports from a participation standpoint was approximately 510 million during the 2009-10 school year, including 468 million during regular-season events and 42 million for state association playoff contests.

“The stats speak for themselves,” said Sachem Director of Athletics Pete Blieberg, who mentioned a handful of reasons for the numbers, including parents being much more involved with their high school aged athletes and because it’s become convenient to attend games.

“Distances for their college aged child might prohibit them from attending as many contests and the economic times have put a damper on the average person attending a number of professional sporting events each year,” he said. “So, by default, we get the crowds. But in all seriousness, it’s the parents and their attachment and involvement with their kids at an earlier age than ever before that promotes the larger high school crowds.”

Sachem does not keep attendance records on hand at district office for any sport.

The NFHS surveyed high school athletic directors at small (up to 1,000 enrollment), medium (1,000 to 2,200) and large (more than 2,220) high schools and multiplied the average regular-season attendance (based on the schools that responded) in each sport by the number of schools in each enrollment category that sponsor the sport, according to a release from the NFHS.

“This first-of-its-kind survey of attendance figures at the high school level is certainly a great sign that high school sports continue to be a big part of communities throughout our nation,” said Bob Gardner, NFHS executive director, in a statement. “A ticket to a high school sporting event remains one of the best values for the entertainment dollar.”